Claudia Ruitenberg appointed as Academic Director, UBC Vantage College

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Claudia Ruitenberg as the new Academic Director of UBC Vantage College.

Claudia Ruitenberg is Associate Professor of Philosophy of Education in the Department of Educational Studies. She is the author of Unlocking the World: Education in an Ethic of Hospitality (2015), and looks forward to using the perspective presented in this book to welcome Vantage students to UBC. Claudia has edited or co-edited several other volumes, including one due to appear in 2017 on study as a distinct educational concept. In her research she asks philosophical questions about educational policies and practices, including political education, art and aesthetic education, discourse and translation, and professional ethics. Through an appointment as Scholar at UBC's Centre for Health Education Scholarship, she has also developed an interest in philosophical perspectives on health professions education.

She is currently serving as Graduate Advisor in her department and one of two Faculty of Education representatives on the UBC Vancouver Senate. In these and other roles she has gained experience in leadership and administrative areas such as policy, curriculum development, hiring, and mentorship. In her scholarly community, she is serving as a member of the Executive Board of the Philosophy of Education Society and President of the Canadian Philosophy of Education Society. In the summer of 2016, she joined the Board of Governors of Stratford Hall IB School in East Vancouver.

Claudia was born and raised in The Netherlands, attended Pearson College on Vancouver Island, and returned to Canada in 2000 to pursue a PhD at Simon Fraser University. As a former international student, she is committed to international education and hopes to contribute to the meaningful internationalization of teaching and research at UBC.

Claudia will begin in her new role on May 1st, 2017. Her appointment is for a three year term.

UBC Vantage College is the only international college of its kind at a top-tier university in Canada. The program is taught by UBC faculty, courses are full UBC courses approved by Senate. Our students are UBC students who receive an undifferentiated transcript.

Vantage One offers a full 11-month first year program in Arts and Science, and in 2015 introduced Engineering and Management. Vantage College students will progress to both UBC campuses. Some will spend their third term at the Okanagan Campus, and these students will visit the UBC Okanagan campus during their first year.

Currently in its third year, the college has more than 350 students from over 25 countries around the world.